If you’ve been in the running community for a while, you’ve likely heard about UTMB or Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. This is a popular series of trail races in the French Alps each year and has featured some of the best ultra runners in the world, such as Kilian Jornet.
Did you also know that everyday runners like us have a shot at getting into the famous race and completing it alongside the elite runners?
In this guide, we will cover all the information you need to qualify for the UTMB World Series Finals and land a coveted spot on the starting line in Chamonix.
What is UTMB?
The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc was first run 20 years ago in 2003. It’s often called one of the most difficult trail-running races in the world. The course follows a hiking path that circumnavigates Mont Blanc in the French Alps of Europe.
Starting in Chamonix, France, in late August or early September, runners will cover 106 miles (171 kilometers) with just over 32,000 feet (10,000 meters) of elevation gain while traveling through France, Italy, and Switzerland.
The route normally takes hikers 7-9 days to complete. However, you can expect the top elite runners in the race to finish in around 20 hours. The majority of the race participants will take between 30-45 hours to complete this ultramarathon.
The course records for men and women are held by names you are likely familiar with: Americans Jim Walmsley (19:37:43) and Courtney Dauwalter (22:30:54). Each year, the race attracts some of the biggest names in ultra running vying to take their place in the upper echelons of endurance runners by winning the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc.
In recent years, UTMB has turned into a weeklong festival featuring numerous races.
In addition to the UTMB 106-mile race, there is the CCC: Courmayeur – Champex – Chamonix, which is 100K (62 miles), and the OCC: Orsières – Champex – Chamonix, which is 56K (35 miles).
The festival also includes races outside of the three main “championship” races: the PTL (300k), TDS (92 miles), MCC (25 miles), ETC (10 miles), and the YCC (10 miles + 5 miles).
How Do You Qualify For UTMB?
Whether you’ve been training for years in preparation or just decided in the last 2 minutes of reading this article, figuring out how to qualify for UTMB and what the entry process is can be an incredibly difficult process.
First, the good news.
UTMB features a vast field of runners, with over 2,500 runners starting the race most years. Now comes the bad news: It’s a race that has been growing in popularity and shows no signs of slowing down. Also, the qualifying process is not the most straightforward.
Ultimately, three different types of runners come to the race, and the qualifications for each vary. Amateurs, Elites, and “Runners with Priority,” as the UTMB site puts it, are the runners looking to enter the race. Since most of the readers will fall into the “amateur” category, this article will focus on that.
While 2003 might seem like a long time ago, this race is still relatively new. As such, it’s gone through several different iterations, owners, and qualification processes.
The race recently merged with the Ironman Group, the largest triathlon organization in the world, and with that came a new qualifying process.
The new qualification process consists of two parts that a runner must complete in order to be able to enter the lottery for the UTMB, CCC, or OCC races.
Runners must complete a UTMB index race, similar to a qualifying race, and must gather running stones.
What Are The UTMB Qualifying Races?
There is no denying that the distances and elevation gain of the UTMB series races makes them incredibly difficult for even the most seasoned of runners.
I’m sure that was foremost in the mind of the race directors when they devised the index race system.
To ensure that qualifying spots go to runners who are ready and able to finish the Chamonix race (at least in theory), each race in the UTMB festival requires you to complete a valid UTMB index race to be eligible for the lottery to get your bib.
There are four different distances a UTMB index race can fall under: 20K (12.5 miles), 50K (31 miles), 100K (62 miles), and 100 miles (161K).
- To qualify for the OCC, you need to complete an index race of 20k.
- For the CCC, you need to complete an index race of 50k.
- For the UTMB, you need to complete an index race of 100k or 100 miles.
The index race must also be completed within the last two years to be valid.
So, what constitutes an index race? Any race that meets the distance listed above? Not exactly.
An index race must be a UTMB event from this list on the UTMB website.
With over 3200 results on the list, you might think there are plenty of opportunities to gain your index for whichever event you are hoping to run. However, you’ll quickly see that these races are spread worldwide, from Asia to North America to Europe, which can complicate things.
For instance, as a trail runner in the United States who hopes to run the UTMB event in the coming years, I’m looking for a race in the USA with an index of 100K or 100 miles. Narrowing that down brings me to 66 races.
Some of these races will be on the east coast of the country and, therefore, more difficult to fit into my schedule. Also, because these races are anywhere from 62 miles (100K) to 250 miles (402K), I have to have adequate time to recover and train from event to event, especially considering these will all feature a lot of elevation gain and drop.
Some of these even require you to qualify for them, like the Western States 100. So, realistically, that only gives you a handful of races each year that will work with your schedule. Good thing the index race lasts for two years.
So, you’ve run your index race. Now what? You’ll also need running stones to enter the lottery.
How Can I Earn Running Stones?
Running stones allow you to enter the UTMB lottery of your choice. One running stone gets you one entry into a race. Two running stones mean two entries. So on and so forth.
The more running stones you collect, the better your chance of getting into the race during the lottery. A runner with ten running stones is ten times more likely to get into the race than a runner with one stone.
So, how do you get running stones? By running UTMB races!
Running stones can be collected by running UTMB World Series races. The length of the race typically determines the number of stones a runner can collect.
For instance, this year, I will run the Canyons 100k race, the first UTMB World Series event held in North America.
The 100K will award me six running stones (it is also an index race, which is why I chose it). There is also a 100-mile race (8 stones), 50K (4 stones), and 25K (2 stones) at the event.
To enter the lottery, you must have acquired at least one running stone in the last two years. However, running stones do not have an expiration date.
How Can I Qualify For UTMB With My Index Race And Running Stones?
So, you need running stones and an index race to qualify. Sounds easy enough.
Yes and no.
There are a few things to consider. These races don’t necessarily overlap. This means you could run an index race that doesn’t award you any stones. Or a race that awards you stones may not meet the index you seek.
It’s important to ensure the race you are looking at is on the list of Index races and has an index marked. Here, you can see if the race meets the 100K index.
You can also see the running stones a race will award you.
We can see this same race awards six running stones, which will give a runner six entries into a UTMB race.
It is important to call out that all of your stones have to go to the same race. So you would need to put all six stones from this race towards either the UTMB, CCC, or OCC race. You are not given the option of splitting up stones and entering the lottery for each race.
The good news is that after acquiring my 100K index, I can run shorter races and collect stones to improve my chances of getting into the UTMB lottery. For instance, I could run the Speedgoat 50K, which would grant me an additional two stones if I complete it.
This would now give me eight stones (along with the six from Canyons 100K) to use to enter the lottery.
As mentioned above, running stones don’t have an expiration date. The only requirement for using them to enter the lottery is that one has been acquired in the last two years.
So, let’s say you gained eight stones in 2021 and never used them to enter the lottery. If you gained two stones this year, you could put ten stones in the lottery for a race in 2023 or 2024.
The new index and running stone system has some definite pros and cons. On one hand, it allows amateur runners plenty of opportunities to gain entries for the lottery of their choice.
On the other hand, it can be argued that it caters to those who have enough money to travel and race to acquire as many stones as possible.
Whatever your thoughts on the matter, hopefully, this clarifies the process of entering UTMB. Now, run an index race and start collecting stones! Hopefully, we will see each other on the starting line in Chamonix in the coming years!
Looking for other challenges to add to your bucket list? Check out our article on some of the most beautiful marathons in the world!
Great article. An important point regarding running stones: there are UTMB ‘major’ races in each of the primary regions (Europe, N. America, Asia). Completing a major race will give you double the number of running stones, compared to non-major races. If you’re able, completing a major is the way to go. Good luck.
Sorry I’m not as positive about the Series/Stones races system as you make it sound. It was only introduced after UTMB was taken over by Ironman and they applied their American style of business approach. The long-standing ITRA system was good enough as a filter, only adding the Stones races should have been sufficient. For me it is purely a money-grab move.
That is Ironman for you.